Sabean, Bochy on Peavy trade; Saturday’s lineups

Steve Kroner subbing for Henry Schulman on a busy Saturday at Third and King:

With Matt Cain’s availability for the rest of this season in doubt, Giants general manager Brian Sabean felt a “sense of urgency” to make a deal.

That’s much of the impetus behind the Giants’ trade for right-hander Jake Peavy from Boston for minor-league pitchers Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree on Saturday.

Cain is on the disabled list with an elbow problem. Sabean said that Cain is not progressing and it’s not certain he can pitch again in 2014.

Thus, Peavy will start Sunday against the Dodgers. Yusmeiro Petit had been scheduled to go in the series finale.

“Everybody knows that we’re not in good stead, roster-wise, especially in this series,” Sabean said, “with missing (Brandon) Belt, missing (Angel) Pagan, missing Cain, etc., and I thought it was important to execute a trade at this time.”

The 2014 season hasn’t gone well — that’s an understatement — for Peavy: He’s 1-9 with 4.72 ERA.

The right-hander has pitched better lately: In his past four starts, he has a 3.91 ERA in 25-1/3 innings, with eight walks and 26 strikeouts.

“We had eight different scouts recommend … we trade for him,” Sabean said.

The Giants’ Bruce Bochy was Peavy’s manager in San Diego for the first five seasons (2002-06) of Peavy’s 13-season career.

“He’s as tough a competitor as any pitcher or player I’ve ever had,” Bochy said of Peavy. “That’s how hard he goes for you. He’s a great teammate. These guys are going to love him, his approach to the game and how he plays it.”

Peavy, who is scheduled to arrive at AT&T Park during Saturday night’s game, owns pretty fair career numbers against the Dodgers: 14-2 with a 2.21 ERA in 25 starts. Most of those starts came during his tenure with the Padres (2002-09), during which he was one of the top pitchers in the National League.

Susac up: Also Saturday, the Giants called up catcher Andrew Susac from Triple-A Fresno and put catcher Hector Sanchez on the seven-day concussion DL. Sanchez took a nasty Adrian Gonzalez foul ball off his mask Friday night. Susac, a 24-year-old Roseville native who went to Oregon State, was the Giants’ second-round selection in 2011.A right-handed hitter, Susac was batting .268 with 10 homers and 32 RBIs in 63 games with the Grizzlies.